Did Labour miss a step in its ‘pull-out’ of constituencies it couldn’t win?

Labour, on Merseyside in particular, has for the whole time I’ve been involved in politics (since 1980) been unwilling to working with progressive parties. That pig headedness has I guess been associated with the danger they have seen of making progressive parties more popular and therefore Labour more vulnerable. As has been put to me on a number of occasions - Labour’s purpose is to put the party first at all times and everything flows from that stance.

Labour is hardly a progressive party but it is a party which has done some progressive things and which has some progressives within its ranks. Fundamentally, it’s historically a tribal party emerging from the working class. Such a history explains the broad church of Labour and the fact that it has always tried to represent all shades of working class opinion including supporters and members who are a part of Labour’s tribe but are significantly right-wing in outlook. This very section of Labour’s support delivered Brexit and Johnson as PM when they broke ranks with Labour.

Oddly though, Labour (on Merseyside) has never been averse to working with the Tories, indeed they ran Merseytravel, the former transport authority for Merseyside, with Tory ‘support’ for a few years. There was also a bizarre attempt to run Sefton Council with the Tories by shutting out the largest party at the time (the Lib Dems) in what was then a balanced council. That weird experiment only lasted 2 or 3 months, although I think something similar and more significant has gone on in Stockport council in more recent times.

The problem I see is that in 2024 Labour stood on a right of centre manifesto, whilst also ‘agreeing’ to back off in some seats, particularly where the Lib Dems were the challengers to the Tories. All very sensible you might say unless you know how Labour really works. In reality they’ve done what could be in their medium to long term disinterest by allowing the left of centre Lib Dems to win a significant number of Parliamentary seats and at a time when the Lib Dem manifesto was clearly far more progressive and to the left of Labour’s. Not only that but the Greens now have a better political foothold and they tend to be attractive to the socialists Starmer’s Party is trying to rid itself of.

All this means that, depending how the cards fall in the next few years, left leaning Labour voters could leak to the Lib Dems with significant leftists/socialists leaking to the Greens. Assuming Labour thought through what it has been doing it points to Starmer’s leadership attempting to replace the Tories as a ‘One Nation-type’ alternative Conservative Party. Indeed, it may well be necessary for Labour to double down on such a move as parties which try to sell themselves as ‘middle of the road/centrist don't usually succeed in UK politics.

My questions are therefore, why did Labour all but cooperate with a progressive party and could their lack of ‘party first at all costs’ be their downfall? Or is it that they realise politics is moving rapidly and that they have to let their significantly right-wing supporters go to Reform whilst trying to appeal to the more moderate but still right of centre Conservative voters?

 

John Shrigley RIP

John Shrigley lived in Lydiate for many years except when his work took him to Tyneside for a number of years. He was an educational psychologist by trade but I only really got to know him well following his retirement and when he moved next door but one to our Southport Road house in Lydiate.

John was steeped in local history knowledge and would often be able to give interesting accounts of the northern part of Maghull and Lydiate over many years. That his wake was held in the MCA* on Green Lane, Maghull was fitting as previous generations of his family had farmed what was once agricultural land which the Green Park estate now sits upon, whilst they lived at Canal Farm also known as White House Farm, now the MCA.

John told me that he first came across me when I canvassed him for the Lib Dems some years back. He lived on the part of Southport Road north of Pilling Lane, Lydiate back then. Despite that first encounter we became good friends when he moved into what had previously been the house lived in by his aunties the Holme sisters, Mabel and Millie. Sheila and I recall Millie being at her garden gate, when she was in her late 80’s/early 90’s and her passing on fascinating memories of Lydiate in times past.

John loved his cricket and, of course, he was a Lancashire supporter. With me being a cricket fan too, although a Nottinghamshire supporter, we always had much to talk about cricket-wise. On one occasion I said he looked like the former first class umpire David Constant as John’s sun hat was just like the one Constant often wore. He spent a day at Birkdale Cricket Ground in the summer of 2023 watching Lancashire play there, whilst at the same time I was down at Trent Bridge watching Nottinghamshire. We also shared football misery during the last two Premiere League seasons; John being an Everton supporter and me Forest.

My love of anything to do with railways was partly shared by John and the photo above shows him at the Worth Valley preserved railway in Yorkshire.

John collected books and memorabilia about all sorts of things and die-cast model cars/buses too. His partner Clare refers to him as a bit of a hoarder. He was particularly interested in the former Ribble bus company and its vehicles. John generously donated two Dinky Toys to Maghull’s Frank Hornby Heritage Centre in 2023 (see photo below), of which I’m a Trustee.

Sheila and I will miss John. We became good friends with him and Clare and whilst only knowing John well for a few short years we really enjoyed spending time with him. Our thoughts are with Clare, who cared for John so wonderfully during his illness.

*Maghull Community Association